Hope for the First Nations has been partnering with the people of the White Earth Reservation in northern Minnesota since 1997. What started with a few teenagers at a small Lutheran high school in Illinois now includes team members from churches across the country – and across denominations. So many children now attend our summer program that it has grown too big for the tiny church building where we first met in Ponsford, Minnesota. We’ve moved into the Pine Point Community Center, or Old School, on the reservation in Pine Point.
We have formed precious relationships with elders and community members, and over the years, have been invited to hold a weeklong, summertime Hope Camp in six different communities on the reservation: Pine Point, White Earth, Rice Lake, Elbow Lake, Mahnomen and Naytauwaush. We also organize trips throughout the year to visit our friends and support the good things happening in the schools, at powwow and at Christmastime, as invited.
And team members have found jobs and homes on the reservation, making our vision of a permanent presence there closer to a reality.
But our mission remains the same: to build relationships with individuals in the community and to share the love of Jesus Christ in culturally relevant ways.
You can find updated information about our partners and projects below: